VIDEO: Bejing Chorus Performs at College Park

Happy Angel Chorus of Yi Shi Fu Xiao performed at College Park Elementary School

Local children were entertained and educated by their international counterparts, as San Mateo-Foster City School District students and families attended a traditional Chinese performance on Monday.

College Park Elementary School welcomed the Happy Angel Chorus of Yi Shi Fu Xiao from Beijing, China. The choir consisted of ten teachers and 40 students, ages nine through twelve.

Led by their Vice Principal, Ms. Di Yongjie, the group performed traditional Chinese folk songs as well as music from other countries.

“I think we are very fortunate,” said parent Cheryl Tulabing. “We’re a small city and our kids still get this cultural experience. This is a rare opportunity.”

The choral members were also offered a tour of the school, activities with students, lunch and a physical education class.

“They will spend a ‘typical American day’ at College Park, attending classes with a buddy, having lunch in the cafeteria, and getting to know our students, said College Park Principal, Diana Hallock.

College Park boasts a Mandarin Immersion program for students pre-K-3, providing content-based instruction in Mandarin.

“College Park began a Mandarin elective program six years ago that has evolved into Mandarin Immersion in the past four years,” said Hallock. “One half of our faculty is Mandarin speaking.”

Azevada Elementary says ‘ni hao’

By Miriam G. Mazliach
Photos By Miriam G. Mazliach

As Azevada kindergarten teacher Orchid Wang enters the classroom, she instructs her students in Mandarin to find a spot and sit down on the large rug at the front of the room. The classroom is quiet and lights are dimmed as she leads the young students in a brief yoga exercise before beginning regular class work. Wang says that breathing exercises help young students visualize learning concepts in their minds.

Throughout the day, 90 percent of the instruction is in Mandarin; the other 10 percent in English. All required California educational standards are met except, of course, since this a language immersion class, it’s done in Mandarin.

In this global economy, people recognize that effective communication with others from around the world is not only a way to understand different cultures, but also a smart thing to do. As a natural extension, bilingualism is encouraged within schools. So this past fall, a pilot program for the new Chinese (Mandarin) Dual Immersion program began with one kindergarten class at Azevada Elementary School in Fremont. Its popularity has enabled an anticipated expansion to two kindergarten and two first grade classes for the 2011-2012 school year.

The Chinese Immersion Program marks the culmination of over two years of effort of district staff, community groups, and parents. Wei-Lin Tong, head of the Chinese Immersion Parents’ Council of Fremont, says, “My father, Professor Ling-chi Wang, and I first approached the District about three years ago. At the time, we were not able to gain much traction in moving forward despite my father’s prior successes in starting other Bay Area Chinese immersion programs.”

However, Tong began to see a change in Fall 2009. With increasing support from Fremont Unified School District (FUSD) staff, parent and community groups, and FUSD’s Department of Federal and State Projects headed by Juan Espinosa, Azevada Elementary School was chosen as the sponsoring site. In May 2010, the School Board listened to a detailed presentation of the program, and at its June 15 meeting, approved the Chinese Dual Immersion Program which began in September with one kindergarten class of 27 students.

Parents and community efforts managed to raise startup costs; no money was spent from the District’s General Fund. In future years, additional funding sources are anticipated through Title III (Immigrant Students), EIA (Education Improvement Act) or grants.

The immersion approach is an effective and proven method of providing children with a well-rounded, academically enriching education and full mastery of both English as well as the new language. By all accounts, Azevada’s immersion program and students are progressing amazingly well. Over time, 5th grade level classes will be taught 50 percent of the time in English and 50 percent in Mandarin. A successful immersion program depends on parents willing to commit to a seven-year cycle through elementary school (K-6).

read more here.

First Mandarin Immersion Public Charter School Opening in East Bay

Yu Ming Charter School, the East Bay’s first Mandarin immersion public charter school, is now holding information sessions and accepting applications for fall 2011 enrollment of kindergartners and first graders.

Located in Alameda County and open to all California residents, Yu Ming fills a huge unmet need and interest for Chinese language instruction in the greater Bay Area. The school will provide a rigorous, comprehensive, and college-preparatory education and teach students from kindergarten to 8th grade to be fully bilingual in Mandarin Chinese and English. Because it is a public charter school, there are no tuition fees. The Alameda County Board of Education unanimously approved Yu Ming’s charter in November 2010.

Gloria Lee, one of the founding parents of Yu Ming Charter School. Photo by Mike Solidum.

“We live in Oakland and searched many years for a public program in our area that would help our kids become bilingual in Mandarin and English,” said Gloria Lee, an Oakland mother, educator, and chair of the Yu Ming Charter School board. “But there just weren’t any. Now that Yu Ming is opening, we are so excited that our kids will have the chance to learn in a Mandarin immersion environment.”

Information sessions are running throughout January and enrollment applications are due Feb. 10. For a schedule and more information, visit the school’s website at www.yumingschool.org.

read more here.

“Nihao, Hou Laoshi!”
The Best Moment for a Chinese Guest Teacher
By Amanda Yan Hou

In the summer of 2010, I became the guest teacher at the MaST Community Charter School in Philadelphia. In the first day of school, the kids who knew no Chinese were able to say “Nihao, Hou Laoshi!” My students’ first Chinese sentence is as beautiful as the best melody in the world! But in the second day, I totally lost control of my class. After a long night in tears, I realized that I have to cheer up…Read more

“你好，侯老师！” 客座中文老师最美好的时刻
２０１０年夏天，我成为了费城MaST的客座中文老师。开学第一天，之前对中文一无所知的小家伙们已经会说：”你好，侯老师！” 我的学生们第一次开口讲的汉语，真得如音乐般悦耳。但没想到的是，第二天我的课堂竟完全失控。在一个长长的以泪洗面的夜晚过后，我意识到自己必须尽快振作起来……中文全文

Most school districts start with Spanish and add Mandarin immersion later. Evergreen, in Vancouver, Wash., did it the other way.

Evergreen schools to offer English-Spanish immersion program

Kindergartners in one classroom next fall will greet their new teacher with “Hola” instead of “Hello.”

A couple of dozen native English- and Spanish-speaking 5- and 6-year-olds will share a classroom for a new two-way immersion program at Marrion Elementary School. The dual-language program is the first of what Evergreen Public Schools’ officials hope to be many immersion programs offered to students.

The 28-student classroom will be half native English speakers and half native Spanish speakers. District officials are asking parents to commit to the six-year program that runs through fifth grade, said Tom Nadal, Evergreen director of elementary education. There is no tuition for the program.

The kindergartners will receive 90 percent of classroom instruction in Spanish and 10 percent in English. The following year, instruction will be split 80-20, then 70-30 and so on until reaching 50-50 in fourth grade. Fifth grade instruction will also be split 50-50, Nadal said.

“They end up biliterate at a fifth-grade level and fluent in both languages,” he said.

The program will immerse English-speaking students in a foreign language while also teaching Spanish-speaking students English. The Spanish-speaking children are students who would otherwise participate in the school’s English-language learners program, Nadal said.

“Our district has an achievement gap between some of our minorities and our white or Caucasian kids,” he said. “This should help close the achievement gap for some of those kids.”

Read more here.

St. Paul plans shift in public schools

Long-range plan includes closing some schools, opening others and ending citywide transportation.